The cry of my heart recently has been Ephesians 4:15 (New King James version) to “grow up into Him in all things.” Even as “babes desire the pure milk of the Word” (1 Peter 2:2) I am entering this 15th year of my salvation, and am desiring “solid food” for those “who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.” (Hebrews 5:12-14) And one of the things I am learning, is that with a growing understanding of the Lord comes a growing understanding of your enemies and how to fight them. Perhaps one of the most dangerous and in danger believers is one that does not know their enemy or perhaps is ignorant to the understanding that they have an enemy in this life. While some “Christians” deny the existence of the devil, this ignorance also applies to those who don’t understand how the devil desires to attack the plan of God in their life. But we must come to this understanding because the Bible says we are “not ignorant of his [Satan’s] devices.” (2 Corinthians 2:11)
What is his mission? Satan comes only “for the Word’s sake” (Mark 4:17). The plan of God for our lives is ultimately evangelistic, to profligate the Gospel. And in Mark 4 Satan comes to steal the Word that was sown through offense, persecution, and thorns because he knows, no Word in you…no Word coming out of you. All of these specific methods succeed because of one basic reason. even as “it is impossible to please [God]” “without faith” (Hebrews 11:6), it is impossible then to displeasure Him without there being some element of fear. And even as God manifests Himself in the form of the Trinity: (God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit), so God gives us an arsenal of weaponry that is a triple threat to fight our arch enemy---fear. These spiritual weapons are delineated clearly in 1 Tim. 1:7.
For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but power, love and a sound mind.
Unfortunately, I feel highly qualified to discuss this subject as over the past year I have faced every type of fear imaginable and some I never imagined—fear for my physical well being and health, fear for my spiritual life, fear for my sanity, fear for my marriage, fear of what I might do and fear that I might never do anything at all. Yeah, I’m psyched about 2009 being over! But what a miracle to see God bring me right through this web of fear and He did it with His power, His love and His sound thinking.
The Greek word for “power” is “dunamis,” where we get our word for “dynamite;” and indeed, it is strong enough to blow your fears out of the water. How dare we fear cancer, when “the same spirit that raised Christ from the dead now dwells in OUR mortal bodies” (my emphasis added to Romans 8:11)? How dare we fear poverty when “He became poor so that we could be made rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9? How dare we fear calamity when “He gives His angels charge over us, lest we dash our foot against a stone” (Psalm 91:11-12)? This is why the castrated gospel of well-if-it-be-the-Lord’s-will and miracles-and-tongues-are-passed-away, is so dangerous. If we can read the Bible, we can know what God’s going to do and if we can pray in tongues we can know all the rest of it too!
“Perfect love casts out fear” (1 John 4:18)
“Perfect love drives out fear” (New International Version)
“Full-grown (complete, perfect) love turns fear out of doors and expels every trace of terror!" [Amplified]
“There is no room in love for fear.” [The Message]
‘Nuff said. But I would like to tip my hat to a FABULOUS book that I recommend to all living creatures called “Captivating” by John and Staci Eldredge (Special thanks to my book guru Lisa Kinsey). These are people that in my mind “get it.” That Christianity for the mature believer is no more rules & regs, no more parent/child, no more fool and deliverer, but it becomes a divine romance. Imagine any of your favorite romantic movies where the heroine has gained faith in their beloved, like Last of the Mohicans or The English Patient. There is no fear in their presence, and when Jesus whispers “I’ll come back for you.” Your heart just melts and it’s like “Devil what?” “Fear who???” “Worry? Not a chance!!!” That’s a picture of perfect love driving away any fear that presents itself.
And a sound mind…This has manifest in my life by asking God always to help me agree with Him. “Help me see it your way God,” is my prayer when I’m frustrated or confused. Isaiah 55:8 says “His thoughts are not our thoughts, His ways are not are ways,” and yet He reveals His thoughts and ways to us in His Word and through our spending time with Him. His ways are not unknowable, except apart from Him. Why was Jesus sleeping through the storm? (See story in Matthew 8:23-27.) What does He know that we don’t know? What are His eyes seeing while ours are fixed on the rain that’s beating us down? He’ll tell you…gladly! “The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him” (Psalm 25:14) “And He [the Spirit] will show you things to come” (John 16:13) Who do you share secrets with? Who do you share your future plans and dreams with? You were made in God’s image, and so you can understand why God reveals things to those who are close to Him. If you are not enjoying that kind of fellowship with the Holy Spirit admit this to yourself and to God. Prayer is just talking to God like you would any other King who loves you so dearly and wants to see you succeed. And please feel free to contact me at dreamsonfirepl@yahoo.com if you need to partner with someone to pray for you as well. “One puts 1000 [enemies] to flight and two 10,000!” (Leviticus 26:8) (I love God’s math!)
“…and a 3-fold cord is not quickly broken” (Ecclesiastes 4:12) Put this triple-bonded cord of power, love and a sound mind around fear’s neck and watch your new year be an “affair [with the Holy Spirit] to remember!”
Monday, December 28, 2009
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Join The Team
“For we are all the body of Christ, and members in particular” (I Corinthians 12:27 NKJ).
God always spoke to people in their common understandings. The “body” of Christ is wonderful imagery because not only did it speak to the people to whom Paul was writing; but it still speaks to us today. Perhaps even more so, as medical science has made countless discoveries about the human body and indeed how everything within it is connected to make up a whole person. Today the farming imagery that was commonly used in the Bible is now foreign to many of us and requires more depth of research to understand the inner workings of seedtime and harvest and what the Scriptures meant when they spoke of those things.
Similarly, people in Bible days might not have understood the concept of teams, clubs and group organizations quite the way we do today. Today’s society is easily grouped off into people with various interests or skills. This imagery is also very powerful when applied to Christianity. In the world of athletics, we would say that Christianity is a “team sport.” In it we are not only judged by our individual performance and giftings but we are equally rewarded for lending our strengths to other team members’ weaknesses.
What are some elements of a team that are different from a body? One difference is that of our understanding of free will. An ear doesn’t have any choice but to be an ear. Yet today we have many that think they’re in the “Body of Christ” and yet they haven’t joined a team. Some are out of position, some try to make up their own position and some think they’re called to be in the bleachers!
Eat, Ride, Watch
Benchwarmers drag the whole team down, according to Bill Belichik. The Head Coach of the New England Patriots is unique in being the only coach to win 3 Super Bowls in 4 years, and lead his team to a perfect 16-0 record in the regular season. He holds records for consistency of wins and has won many awards for maintaining a standard of excellence in coaching football. He has not followed the practice of many professional sports teams in allowing there to be any “stars” on the team. He has said “Everybody gets game time—no ERWs on the team.”
ERWs—a term that can apply to many Christians—those who “Eat, Ride, and Watch.” They eat the team food, they ride the team bus to the events and they watch the players play. Belichik says on his team everyone is a player, everyone is a leader, and everyone is valuable though different. He epitomizes the old adage “there is no I in TEAM.”
He has embodied this philosophy so strongly that he has passed it along to his team. Many of his players had been waiting over 10 years of their career to play in a Super Bowl. As boys they dreamt of hearing their names announced in front of tens of thousands of fans. But the Patriots broke that tradition and clung to their practice of being brought onto the field as a team. Belichick says of that first Super Bowl “…they didn’t want that for themselves because they wanted to go out as a team because of their commitment to each other. That’s so powerful.”
I Corinthians 12:12-13 in the Message Bible also speaks of this kind of team spirit,
“You can easily enough see how this kind of thing works by looking no further than your own body. Your body has many parts—limbs, organs, cells—but no matter how many parts you can name, you're still one body. It's exactly the same with Christ. By means of his one Spirit, we all said good-bye to our partial and piecemeal lives. We each used to independently call our own shots, but then we entered into a large and integrated life in which he has the final say in everything. (This is what we proclaimed in word and action when we were baptized.) Each of us is now a part of his resurrection body, refreshed and sustained at one fountain—his Spirit—where we all come to drink. The old labels we once used to identify ourselves—labels like Jew or Greek, slave or free—are no longer useful. We need something larger, more comprehensive.”
In fact, we even need something larger than a church affiliation to be sure we are fulfilling this mandate from the Lord. Some people excuse themselves from serving because they’re in between church memberships, and others think just because their name is on a church roster that they are automatically in the “Body of Christ.” But 1 Cor. 12:27 says we are ALL the body of Christ which means we all need to fulfill our roles. Just calling you a wide receiver doesn’t make you a functioning one. There must be a completion of the roles we are called to play.
Self-substitution
People can also try to force themselves into a position, either because they think it holds more esteem, or they’re trying to please another, or perhaps they just haven’t even bothered to ask the Lord, our Coach, where you should be on the field. But once you know you need to be an active member, you want to know if you’re offense or defense, lead or bringing up the rear. You’ll only be at maximum effectiveness when you fulfill the role He’s asked you to play
Of this, verses 18-22 say “But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased. And if they were all one member, where would the body be? But now indeed there are many members, yet one body. And the eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I have no need of you;’ nor again the head to the feet, ‘I have no need of you.’ 22 No, much rather, those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary. (NKJ)
It’s a powerful place to be when you stop judging your position (and others), denying your position or being afraid of your position. Everything in you is put there to be an asset to your role. Embrace your part of the team, learn about your position, get coaching and excel in your position!
Team Suffering, Team Victory
I Cor. 12: 24-26 says “But God composed the body, having given greater honor to that part which lacks it, that there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.”
The team is truly suffering by those who choose not to play, and those who choose not to play are also suffering. If Jesus’ last request of us, His disciples, was to go into the world and make disciples of all nations, lay hands on the sick, cast out demons and triumph over the works of the enemy, then what’s the point of our lives if we’re not fulfilling our role to make sure that happens. Be one who learns the beauty of being “in the zone” with your team, where no one is show-boating, but everyone is committed and equipped to win!
God always spoke to people in their common understandings. The “body” of Christ is wonderful imagery because not only did it speak to the people to whom Paul was writing; but it still speaks to us today. Perhaps even more so, as medical science has made countless discoveries about the human body and indeed how everything within it is connected to make up a whole person. Today the farming imagery that was commonly used in the Bible is now foreign to many of us and requires more depth of research to understand the inner workings of seedtime and harvest and what the Scriptures meant when they spoke of those things.
Similarly, people in Bible days might not have understood the concept of teams, clubs and group organizations quite the way we do today. Today’s society is easily grouped off into people with various interests or skills. This imagery is also very powerful when applied to Christianity. In the world of athletics, we would say that Christianity is a “team sport.” In it we are not only judged by our individual performance and giftings but we are equally rewarded for lending our strengths to other team members’ weaknesses.
What are some elements of a team that are different from a body? One difference is that of our understanding of free will. An ear doesn’t have any choice but to be an ear. Yet today we have many that think they’re in the “Body of Christ” and yet they haven’t joined a team. Some are out of position, some try to make up their own position and some think they’re called to be in the bleachers!
Eat, Ride, Watch
Benchwarmers drag the whole team down, according to Bill Belichik. The Head Coach of the New England Patriots is unique in being the only coach to win 3 Super Bowls in 4 years, and lead his team to a perfect 16-0 record in the regular season. He holds records for consistency of wins and has won many awards for maintaining a standard of excellence in coaching football. He has not followed the practice of many professional sports teams in allowing there to be any “stars” on the team. He has said “Everybody gets game time—no ERWs on the team.”
ERWs—a term that can apply to many Christians—those who “Eat, Ride, and Watch.” They eat the team food, they ride the team bus to the events and they watch the players play. Belichik says on his team everyone is a player, everyone is a leader, and everyone is valuable though different. He epitomizes the old adage “there is no I in TEAM.”
He has embodied this philosophy so strongly that he has passed it along to his team. Many of his players had been waiting over 10 years of their career to play in a Super Bowl. As boys they dreamt of hearing their names announced in front of tens of thousands of fans. But the Patriots broke that tradition and clung to their practice of being brought onto the field as a team. Belichick says of that first Super Bowl “…they didn’t want that for themselves because they wanted to go out as a team because of their commitment to each other. That’s so powerful.”
I Corinthians 12:12-13 in the Message Bible also speaks of this kind of team spirit,
“You can easily enough see how this kind of thing works by looking no further than your own body. Your body has many parts—limbs, organs, cells—but no matter how many parts you can name, you're still one body. It's exactly the same with Christ. By means of his one Spirit, we all said good-bye to our partial and piecemeal lives. We each used to independently call our own shots, but then we entered into a large and integrated life in which he has the final say in everything. (This is what we proclaimed in word and action when we were baptized.) Each of us is now a part of his resurrection body, refreshed and sustained at one fountain—his Spirit—where we all come to drink. The old labels we once used to identify ourselves—labels like Jew or Greek, slave or free—are no longer useful. We need something larger, more comprehensive.”
In fact, we even need something larger than a church affiliation to be sure we are fulfilling this mandate from the Lord. Some people excuse themselves from serving because they’re in between church memberships, and others think just because their name is on a church roster that they are automatically in the “Body of Christ.” But 1 Cor. 12:27 says we are ALL the body of Christ which means we all need to fulfill our roles. Just calling you a wide receiver doesn’t make you a functioning one. There must be a completion of the roles we are called to play.
Self-substitution
People can also try to force themselves into a position, either because they think it holds more esteem, or they’re trying to please another, or perhaps they just haven’t even bothered to ask the Lord, our Coach, where you should be on the field. But once you know you need to be an active member, you want to know if you’re offense or defense, lead or bringing up the rear. You’ll only be at maximum effectiveness when you fulfill the role He’s asked you to play
Of this, verses 18-22 say “But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased. And if they were all one member, where would the body be? But now indeed there are many members, yet one body. And the eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I have no need of you;’ nor again the head to the feet, ‘I have no need of you.’ 22 No, much rather, those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary. (NKJ)
It’s a powerful place to be when you stop judging your position (and others), denying your position or being afraid of your position. Everything in you is put there to be an asset to your role. Embrace your part of the team, learn about your position, get coaching and excel in your position!
Team Suffering, Team Victory
I Cor. 12: 24-26 says “But God composed the body, having given greater honor to that part which lacks it, that there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.”
The team is truly suffering by those who choose not to play, and those who choose not to play are also suffering. If Jesus’ last request of us, His disciples, was to go into the world and make disciples of all nations, lay hands on the sick, cast out demons and triumph over the works of the enemy, then what’s the point of our lives if we’re not fulfilling our role to make sure that happens. Be one who learns the beauty of being “in the zone” with your team, where no one is show-boating, but everyone is committed and equipped to win!
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Now for the Real surgery
"If your eye offends you pluck it out…"
Wait it gets better…
"If your hand causes you to sin…cut it off." (Matthew 18:8-9)
There’s one for the promise box.
So I ask myself, since unfortunately, this has become a relevant scripture in my own life…How long do you think it would take to do that? I mean plucking an eye out sounds like it would take some effort and work, outside of sounding disgusting. And oh, how your flesh would revile…so badly that it might even take you awhile to decide you were going to cut that hand off…even if it had gangrene…even if you could see it spreading to the rest of your body! You’d probably do it, but it might take a minute to get up the nerve…to save you…from you.
So I sit here contemplating. Is there an offering God does not multiply? You may think that’s a waste of time, Jesus said, "there is no one who has left house or parents or brothers or wife or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who shall not receive many times more in this present time, and in the age to come eternal life." (Luke 18:29-30) Notice there was no sin in that list, or in any list that talks about God multiplying our offerings (Luke 6:38, 2 Corinthians 8 or 9). This is the sacrifice that no one wants to talk about…the blood Jesus sweat from His brow that’s swept under the proverbial rug.
It’s what we give up on the way of dying to self, it’s what we do to make sure we’re not "entangled again to a yoke of bondage and the sin which so easily besets us." (Galatians 5:1) We lie to people, sinners smarter than us, who say, "Look, I’m not ready to give up my sin!" And they’re not, and we say that doesn’t matter and IT does! That sinner’s not going to trick God the way we tricked them into praying some prayer. You do have to be sick of it, you do have to have faith or at least hope, that God is stronger than your sin…Or it won’t work. And that stuff you give up, God does not multiply back to you…You’re letting go for the very intent that it’s NOT coming back. You’re deliberately turning away the devil’s presents for God’s, because when you take their presents you’ll welcome their presence.
So Jacob got the blessing. He welcomed the Presence of God saying, "I’m not going to let you go until you bless me!" (Genesis 32:26) But he walked with a limp for THE REST OF HIS LIFE, which was long, by the way. So, what is this "hip" the angel of the Lord "touched"? Well, it’s what gets touched in all of our lives…our pride. A hip out of socket definitely put a damper on that pimp-daddy swagger Jacob had going on. Hip also comes from a word which means "to bend," (http://www.dictionary.com) and sometimes we call ourselves being "flexible" when really we have loose morals, which is why God had to "tighten Jacob up." The name "Jacob" comes from a word meaning "deceiver" and in order to help Jacob stop "bending the truth" God changed his name to "Israel," which means "He that striveth with God" and, "to fight or to contend."
Another interesting item that came up on the Online Etymology dictionary (www.etymonline.org) was "hip" as an interjection. We know the term "hip, hip hooray" but it was at one time used as a "cry to attack Jews." Before blessing him, God attacked that which used to attack Jacob. Maybe instead of a "heel," Jacob had an Achilles’ hip. Jacob learned how to fight evil instead of using evil to win his fights (as he did with his brother Esau—Genesis 27) by learning how to wrestle with God.
One thing I know for sure, whatever the price of righteousness (being right with the Lord), there is no comparison with the cost of disobedience (thank you Pastor Robb Thompson) and the presents of the devil are no match for the Presence of God. So, I choose Life and I smile, until my eyes fall once again, upon the inevitable knife.
Wait it gets better…
"If your hand causes you to sin…cut it off." (Matthew 18:8-9)
There’s one for the promise box.
So I ask myself, since unfortunately, this has become a relevant scripture in my own life…How long do you think it would take to do that? I mean plucking an eye out sounds like it would take some effort and work, outside of sounding disgusting. And oh, how your flesh would revile…so badly that it might even take you awhile to decide you were going to cut that hand off…even if it had gangrene…even if you could see it spreading to the rest of your body! You’d probably do it, but it might take a minute to get up the nerve…to save you…from you.
So I sit here contemplating. Is there an offering God does not multiply? You may think that’s a waste of time, Jesus said, "there is no one who has left house or parents or brothers or wife or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who shall not receive many times more in this present time, and in the age to come eternal life." (Luke 18:29-30) Notice there was no sin in that list, or in any list that talks about God multiplying our offerings (Luke 6:38, 2 Corinthians 8 or 9). This is the sacrifice that no one wants to talk about…the blood Jesus sweat from His brow that’s swept under the proverbial rug.
It’s what we give up on the way of dying to self, it’s what we do to make sure we’re not "entangled again to a yoke of bondage and the sin which so easily besets us." (Galatians 5:1) We lie to people, sinners smarter than us, who say, "Look, I’m not ready to give up my sin!" And they’re not, and we say that doesn’t matter and IT does! That sinner’s not going to trick God the way we tricked them into praying some prayer. You do have to be sick of it, you do have to have faith or at least hope, that God is stronger than your sin…Or it won’t work. And that stuff you give up, God does not multiply back to you…You’re letting go for the very intent that it’s NOT coming back. You’re deliberately turning away the devil’s presents for God’s, because when you take their presents you’ll welcome their presence.
So Jacob got the blessing. He welcomed the Presence of God saying, "I’m not going to let you go until you bless me!" (Genesis 32:26) But he walked with a limp for THE REST OF HIS LIFE, which was long, by the way. So, what is this "hip" the angel of the Lord "touched"? Well, it’s what gets touched in all of our lives…our pride. A hip out of socket definitely put a damper on that pimp-daddy swagger Jacob had going on. Hip also comes from a word which means "to bend," (http://www.dictionary.com) and sometimes we call ourselves being "flexible" when really we have loose morals, which is why God had to "tighten Jacob up." The name "Jacob" comes from a word meaning "deceiver" and in order to help Jacob stop "bending the truth" God changed his name to "Israel," which means "He that striveth with God" and, "to fight or to contend."
Another interesting item that came up on the Online Etymology dictionary (www.etymonline.org) was "hip" as an interjection. We know the term "hip, hip hooray" but it was at one time used as a "cry to attack Jews." Before blessing him, God attacked that which used to attack Jacob. Maybe instead of a "heel," Jacob had an Achilles’ hip. Jacob learned how to fight evil instead of using evil to win his fights (as he did with his brother Esau—Genesis 27) by learning how to wrestle with God.
One thing I know for sure, whatever the price of righteousness (being right with the Lord), there is no comparison with the cost of disobedience (thank you Pastor Robb Thompson) and the presents of the devil are no match for the Presence of God. So, I choose Life and I smile, until my eyes fall once again, upon the inevitable knife.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Reflections from TN-408
It’s extra nice when your nurses smell good and you smell soooo bad!
Surgery is a chiropractor’s best friend.
When you’re alone someone’s always there…pray for the right presence.
I now know why they believe it’s preferable to send you home with a blood bag. (A hospital bed is no place for a relatively healthy person.)
I have determined…the joy of the Lord is my strength. (Nehemiah 8:10)
Some trust in chariots, some in horses…but I will remember the name of the Lord my God. (Psalm 20:7)
(In prayer for an old friend) The seed will not return void, even if it skips a generation!
Dancing is mostly not for a stage, unless that stage is the top of the devil’s head.
The teacher has sent me to the chalkboard of my mind to write 100 times “I will not go to surgery with hair on my arms again. I will not go to surgery with hair on my arms again!”
Smartest move: Playing worship music I don’t know so I can’t strain my voice.
Smoothest move: When the nurse walked in, after we turned the beautiful worship musical off, and said, “Wow, this room is so peaceful.”
God did NOT break the mold when He made me. I have now been told, for like the 87th time in my life, that I look JUST LIKE this girl someone knows. I literally put people into shock. It’s incredible.
Battle scars are fitting for warriors.
I'm still not certain that I understand the difference between discomfort and pain...just fix it!
(For the beginning of this story, go to www.theoneyearaudiobible.blogspot.com)
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